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If you have news that you would like to share with the community, please email brackettenewsletter@gmail.com. Thank you! Kristin LeClair
See www.brackettelementary.org for more calendar and event information
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IN THIS ISSUE:
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Save the Dates
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Brackett Morning Fitness Program - Still Time to Sign Up!
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Brackett Science Fair - March 17th!
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Parent Forum – February 4 – Parenting for Success with Less Stress
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Parent Forum – February 24 – PARC & The Common Core
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SAVE THE DATES!
2/14-2/19/16 - February Break
3/4/16 - Brackett Ice Skating Night
3/17/16 - Brackett Science Fair
4/1/16 - Brackett Movie Night
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Brackett Morning Fitness Program with P.E Teacher, Guy Schiavone, Still Time to Sign Up!
We are so fortunate that our Brackett Morning Fitness Program begins February 1st -April 1st with our very own P.E. instructor, Mr. Schiavone. He is generously donating his time to bring us this fun station based workout for all Brackett students! The workouts will consist of various cardiovascular, strength, and flexibility exercises and include some general nutrition information. It is not a skill based program but a fitness based program and the goal is to increase the fitness and overall health level of children. Permission slips went home in backpacks last week, yellow paper.
Please arrive on time, workout begins promptly at 7:40 a.m and ends at 8:00 a.m.
Monday - Fourth and Fifth Grade
Wednesday - Kindergarten and First Grade
Friday - Second and Third Grade
Volunteers are welcomed, particularly for Wednesday with Kindergarten and First Grade. Please email gschiavone@arlington.k12.ma.us if interested or arrive 5 minutes early on first day.
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Brackett Science Fair – March 17th!
March 17th is not only St. Patrick's Day, it is also the date for the Brackett Science Fair! The STEM Enrichment Committee is planning for a celebration of color and all things green. Please mark your calendars for Thursday, March 17th, 6-8 pm, and plan to discover what science has been performed by the 4th and 5th graders this year. Pizza and beverages will be sold.
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Parent Forum – February 4 – Parenting for Success with Less Stress
Attention: Parents of Children grades 4th -8th grade.
ARLINGTON PARENT EDUCATION FORUM
in conjunction with MAGE (Mass Association for Gifted Education)
Parenting for Success with Less Stress*
or
How to Succeed Without Seceding from Family
*Batteries and Stress-Free Parenting not included
Who: Parents of children 4th-8th grades, concepts applicable to all school-age children and teens
When: February 4, 7-8:30 PM
Place Ottoson Middle School Cafeteria, 63 Acton Street, Arlington MA 02476
Tempering perfectionism: A student who strives to be the best all the time may seem like a blessing, but can really cause struggle for families. How can families achieve balance between perfection and reasonable expectations?
Building Resiliency: A major key to life success is one’s abilities to persevere through difficulty, criticism, and failure. How can families foster resiliency?
Cooperation skills: Some students thrive in group projects; others dread it. How can we teach the negotiation skills underlying group dynamics and how to troubleshoot the problems that often arise?
Developing motivation: Motivation is complex: some students are bored, others are overwhelmed, and old habits are hard to break. We will break apart some common barriers and address some possible solutions.
Presenter
Suzanne Fedorka has education degrees in Middle School Education and in Gifted Education. She has taught middle school science and math, has worked as a middle school gifted and talented resource teacher, and currently serves on the Massachusetts Association for Gifted Education Board.
Please email Amy Duke on the particulars aduke@arlington.k12.ma.us
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Parent Forum – February 24 – PARC & The Common Core
A message from Superintendent Bodie:
Last fall, the Massachusetts Board of Education voted to adopt a new state assessment (MCAS 2.0) that will be administered state-wide beginning in the 2016-2017 school year in grades 3-8, replacing MCAS. This assessment will be based on the PARCC (Partnership for Assessing Readiness for College and Career) assessment, which many districts in Massachusetts have piloted over the last two years.
The Department of Secondary and Elementary Education (DESE) invited districts that have not been administering PARCC to choose to pilot PARCC this year in preparation for the implementation of MCAS 2.0 next year. In December, the Arlington School Committee voted to have the Arlington Public Schools administer the PARCC assessment in grades 3-8 this spring (2016) to provide our students with the opportunity to experience an assessment similar to the next generation state testing planned for spring 2017.
The testing window for PARCC differs from MCAS. There will not be any state tests administered in March this year. Instead, the testing window for mathematics and literacy/reading is from April 25 - May 27 for schools doing paper-based testing, which includes all elementary schools except Bishop. The window for computer-based testing is April 25 - June 6. There will be a meeting for Bishop parents sponsored by the PTO on February 10 to learn more about the computer administered test.
On February 24th, the School Department is sponsoring a forum for elementary parents focused on the PARCC assessment and the Massachusetts Common Core State Standards in mathematics and literacy from 7:00 - 9:00 pm in the Thompson School gym. Parents will also learn about the district's plan for implementation of the paper-based PARCC assessment this spring.
Speakers include Matthew Coleman, Director of Mathematics K - 12 and Linda Hanson and Tammy McBride, elementary literacy specialists. Parents are invited to send questions regarding PARCC and the MA Common Core State Standards to Dr. Laura Chesson at lchesson@arlington.k12.ma.us prior to the forum so that we are able to address questions in the presentation, though there will also be an opportunity to ask questions following the presentation.
We do not plan to do "test-prep" for the PARCC test, as we have invested much work in the past few years to align our curriculum with the MA Common Core State Standards. We will, however, provide students and teachers with opportunities to experience the new format of the test.
We hope you will consider attending the meeting on February 24. If you are interested in seeing sample PARCC test questions, please go to:http://parcc.pearson.com/practice-tests/
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For daily updated calendar and event information, please check the Brackett Website at http://brackettelementary.org/
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